Bond Election

4:43 pm

Fri April 6, 2012

Online Input on Bond Package Ends This Weekend

An online survey of voter priorities in an upcoming bond election is ending this weekend.

Image courtesy austintexas.gov

This weekend's your last chance to take the City of Austin’s online survey seeking input on how money in a possible November bond referendum should be spent.

The city’s Bond Election Advisory Task Force received a list of projects city departments feel should be funded in a bond package. That list was released in February, totaling at a cost of nearly $1.5 billion. The proposed projects are being weighted by need and urgency, and compared against a set of designated values (cost-effectiveness, geographic balance, environmental protection, and more).

There are numerous projects for parks, libraries, community centers, and EMS center improvements. Among the items on the list include $78 million for a new Austin Police Department headquarters, $50 million for I-35 improvements, and $10 million for a Sabine Street “promenade” at Waller Creek.

While that list won’t be fully funded, officials are putting together proposals, at different amounts, to be further vetted by the Austin City Council: $200 million, $300 million, and $400 million. People can go log on to the survey, choose between those three amounts, and then allocate it between four categories -- affordable housing, city facilities, parks and open spaces, and transportation and mobility. They can also comb through the list and select 10 projects that should be prioritized.

The survey will run through Sunday, April 8. The Task Force will present the final amount and list of prioritized projects to the City Council sometime in May.